Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,999 in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber.
Stainforth grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 18% of UK towns, and #52 of 63 in South Yorkshire. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A): median sale £125,000, 2.9 years of area income; rent £694 a month. Its weakest is safety (D−): 72.5 violent and sexual offences and 49.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 0%.
The 3 things Stainforth does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Stainforth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 2 buildings inside Stainforth’s built-up area.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1890.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Stainforth.
Children under 15 make up 22%, above both South Yorkshire’s towns (17%) and England’s towns (18%). The median resident of Stainforth is 37.3 years old. The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Stainforth | South Yorkshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 17% | 18% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 37% | 22% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 6.2% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 13% | 27% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · South Yorkshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 2 primary schools: 50% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Attainment 8 at the one secondary school within 3 km averages 52.2, and 70% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths. Between them, two primaries teach 439 pupils in Stainforth.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stainforth Kirton Lane Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 224 | D |
The 12 months to August 2026 brought 1,017 recorded crimes inside Stainforth’s built-up area, and 198 reports of anti-social behaviour. There were 29.4 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), higher than both South Yorkshire’s towns (13.4) and England’s towns (7.8). Of all the crimes, 42% were violence and sexual offences.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Men in Stainforth can expect to live to 75.1, women to 77.9 (2019–23). 9.7% of residents report bad or very bad health; what’s more, at the census, nearly a quarter of people here had a disability, above both South Yorkshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Stainforth is Doncaster Royal Infirmary, 5.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Stainforth | South Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 73% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.7% | 6.7% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes built before 1919 account for 4% of the housing. For its size, Stainforth has 3 listed buildings per 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 46% of households. 168 standard sales inside Stainforth’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £125,000. Private renters make up 18% of households, near South Yorkshire’s towns (18%) and lower than England’s towns (21%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £169,000 | 19 |
| Semi-detached | £130,000 | 91 |
| Terraced | £110,000 | 58 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 11% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Driving is how 79% of commuters got to work at the census. About 8% of its commuters stay in Stainforth for work. For every resident in work, Stainforth has 0.3 jobs. Just over a quarter of commuters travelled under 5 km, below South Yorkshire’s towns (43%) and England’s towns (45%) alike.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
4 notable people were born in Stainforth.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stainforth | 5,999 | — | C− | A | D− | D− |
| Dunscroft and Hatfield | 14,000 | 1.5 | C+ | A− | D | D |
| Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe | 13,090 | 2.8 | B | A− | C | C+ |
| Thorne | 12,303 | 3.1 | D | A− | D | D |
| Moorends | 5,194 | 4 | C | A | C− | D− |
| Armthorpe | 14,161 | 4.2 | B− | A− | C− | D |
| Hatfield Woodhouse | 2,208 | 4.2 | — | A | D− | C− |
| Arksey | 1,578 | 5 | — | A | A− | C− |
Hatfield Woodhouse and Arksey have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: almost all of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £125,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £110,000, semi-detached houses £130,000 and detached houses £169,000.
Town in South Yorkshire, England
Stainforth is a built-up area of 5,999 people, in the Doncaster council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
